"Earth and Spirit" Showcases Maori and Aboriginal Art
KEENE, N.H., 8/25/08 - Australian and New Zealand artists show contemporary artwork that’s rooted in their indigenous past in an exhibit that opens Monday, September 8, and continues through Sunday, October 19, at the Thorne- Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College.
“Earth and Spirit: Contemporary Indigenous Art from New Zealand and Australia” features indigenous art in a variety of media, including paintings and traditional forms such as weaving and carving in wood and jade. Guest curator John Royal selected artwork in this exhibit to introduce the contemporary art of 14 leading New Zealand Maori and the Australian Aboriginal visual artists. The exhibit includes carved masks, fiber art, weaponry, and musical instruments.
“Earth and Spirit” looks at indigenous cosmologies, worldviews, and philosophies related to the creation and order of the universe and the spiritual relationship between humans and the natural world.
Maori art embodies the world of ideas and beliefs, confirming the artists’ notions about who they are and where they came from - the universe and the spiritual realm. The exhibit shows several wooden masks with intricate tattoo- like incisions called ta moko. The origins of ta moko lie in an ancient story of a man and woman, who lived at a time when the art of chiseling the skin was not known and designs were painted on the body.
Likewise, Australian mythology is examined by contemporary artists. There are two paintings by Australian Aboriginals dealing with an emu, a swift running native bird that looks like a small ostrich. The emu is the law keeper and protector of the law in aboriginal belief. This law is from dreamtime and cannot be changed unless the ancestors intervene.
The public is invited to the Thorne Gallery for a reception of “Earth and Spirit,” which will include a discussion on New Zealand art and culture and the screening of two New Zealand films, on Thursday, September 25, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Maori artist and Fulbright scholar Aroha Dahm and New Zealand Honorary Consul to New England Simon C. Leeming will lead the discussion and answer questions at 6 p.m. at the gallery. After the discussion, the KSC Film Society will show Alex, a story that follows a New Zealand swimmer training for the 1960 Rome Olympics, at 7 p.m. and Old Scores, a film about two old men re-creating the controversial 1966 All Blacks/Wales rugby match in New Zealand, at 9 p.m. in the Putnam Arts Lecture Hall. Admission to the films, reception, and exhibit is free.
The gallery is open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday, and noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Hours will be extended from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 1, during the KSC Children’s Literature Festival. The gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. To request accommodations for a disability, please call the gallery at least two weeks before your visit. For information, call 603-358-2720 or visit www.keene.edu/tsag.
